Rise of Terror

Night fell upon Canterlot. Everything was quite. The moon bathed the stone stature of Chrysalis, Tirek and Cozy Glow in its light. Suddendly, three cloaked figures approached. Two of them were quadrupedal while one walked on his hind legs. The latter one took three amulets out of his cloak. He put one each around Chrysalis‘, Tireks and Cozys necks. For a moment, nothing happened. Then suddendly, the amulets started glowing white. Slowly, the stone surrounding the three villains gave way to their skin until at last, they were free. And immediatly lost their balance falling on the ground. As they looked up to the one standing on his hind legs, they looked into the face of:

“The Storm King?! You are back?! Why did you free us?!“, Chrysalis asked.

But the Storm King did not respond.

“He didn’t.“, another voice said.

The three villains turned around and saw:

“Sombra?! You have returned?! Again?!“, Tirek asked.

But Sombra did not answer either. Finally, the third figure stepped forwards. Unlike the other two, he was cloak to the point that you couldn’t even make out what species he was. He said:

“Yes. Thanks to me, both of these wannabe-conquerors have been summond back from the eternal darkness of the other side. Just as you were freed from your prison by those amulets I crafted. In return, I demand that you join me in my plan to rid the world of Twilight Sparkle and her friends. Once and for all.“

The three villains exchanged looks.

“Cut the crap, Discord!“, Chrysalis yelled annoyed.

“How stupid do you think we are? Do you really think we wouldn’t notice you are doing basically the exact same thing again?“, Tirek asked.

“It’s super obvious! You’re even using some of the same lines you used while pretending to be Grogar!“, Cozy Glow added.

“DON’T YOU EVER DARE TO COMPARE ME WITH THAT SORRY EXCUSE OF A CHAOS-SPIRIT EVER AGAIN!“, the figure yelled back at them before continuing:

“I admit, this part of my plan seems similar to his. But I assure you: I came up with my plan first. But the humiliating defeat of Chrysalis at the hands of a powerless pony and a renegade minion forced me to delay and rework my plans until your inevitable capture.“

“Alright, let’s play along: Who are you and what do you want? And why do you keep hiding your appearance?“, Tirek asked.

“My name is of no importance to you. You wouldn’t recognize it or, if I’d uncloak, me anyways as we’ve never met. However, I on my part have been watching you for a long time waiting patiently for the perfect time to strike. I want you to join me and help me bring my plan to a successful end. If you do so, I will grant you permenant freedom. But unlike that arrogant clown, I do not promise you anything more, like a piece of Equestria for you to rule over. For the time you work under me, I will also not let you run wild and free and give you the opportunity to plot against me. Not only will my plan only take two days to be completed, I will also keep you on a leash the whole time: These amulets. I gave you your freedom with them. But if they are removed from the neck of at least one of you, if I want it to happen, if I fall unconcious or if I lose my free will, you will be dragged back together and turned back into stone. Afterwards, an invisble force will force you to resume the position you had before you were freed. But if you help me reach my goal, the complete and utter destruction of Equestria and everyone in it, I will reward you with your freedom by fusing these amulets with your bodies. Though, of course, I will still be able to deactivate them turning you back to stone. Just to make sure you don’t waste your time with thoughts about turning against me.“

“A tempting offer. But since you obviously need us, I think we may need to talk about our trust issues first.“, Chrysalis said.

The stranger laughed out loud.

“Don’t let your greed and pride overestimate your position. Me asking you was a mere courtesy. If I want to or if I die, the amulets will explode, killing you instantaneously. Then, I can simply resurrect you as my slaves without any free will or any of your personality. Like these two puppets.“, he said pointing to Sombra and the Storm King.

The three villains turned pale.

“Of course, if you prefer that, I can do it right now.“

The amulets started blinking red.

“Wait, no! We serve! We serve!“, Cozy yelled and the other two agreed.

“Good.“, the figure said.

The blinking stopped. The three breathed a sigh of relief.

“Now that we got that out of the way: Here is the part of my plan you need to know about: We require a great deal of magical power. Four alicorns worth, to be exact. Luckily, Twilight Sparkle is now the ruler of Equestria while Celestia and Luna are in Silver Shoals, completely unguarded. You three and Sombra will ponynap Twilight Sparkle while the Storm King and I are going to take care of Celestia and Luna. We will bring them to a place I will reveal to you through Sombra while you are on your way to Canterlot Castle. Then, tomorrow night, we will ponynap Cadance. She is more suited to what I have in mind than her daughter. Then and only then will you hear the rest of my plan. To make sure you can ponynap them, I managed to get some of the flowers growing near the Changeling Kingdom and turned them into the sleeping powder Chrysalis frequently used for her ponynappings. Sombra carries your portion. Tirek, you can steal the magic of any guard you come across. But don’t touch any alicorns. Oh, and one last thing: I can see and hear everything my puppets see and hear. So don’t think you’ll ever be out of my sight just because I’m not around physically. Understood?“

The three villains nodded.

“Very good. Then let’s get to work.“